Why does Linden Lab allow Child avatars on marketplace?

[Rob Huntsman]

Age-play is a great offence to linden lab TOS (Terms of Service) and will get you banned quick. For example, I know quite a few people that were banned and claimed they are IP address banned now from Second Life. With out warning! Meaning any account they create is now banned!

I'm sure this has happened to many people they know. However, I'm curious if age-play that big of an issue on second life.Where they're IP banning their player-base/community for violation. Wouldn't it be just better to REMOVE the child avatars, Childlike items off marketplace? Such as this....

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Complete-Child-Avatar-Lori/890404

That avatar is way too big for a binky...Then also just the whole child avatar scheme. Or Maybe Consider Adult-verification to play second life such as credit card, of Birth-day year giving it a rated M for Mature.

So again why does Linden Lab allow Child avatars on marketplace? It seems whole situation there isn't great for business period with how things are right now. Most land owners I know don't even want them in their store or Land.

Edited December 7, 2019 by Haselden

[Mortus Allen]

Age-play in it's self is not an offence. There is nothing in the ToS I could see that explicitly or suggestively states that age-play on it's own is an offence. It's only an offence if one does so for the purpose of engaging, stalking or luring minors, or when doing so in a sexual or sexually suggestive or lewd manner.

See and read the following very carefully:

Quote

 

(vii) If you are an adult, impersonate a minor for the purpose of interacting with a minor using Second Life, or stalk, harass, or engage in any sexual, suggestive, lewd, lascivious, or otherwise inappropriate conduct with minors on Second Life, or attempt to contact or meet with such minor outside Second Life, including without limitation electronically or physically, if you have reason to know or Second Life concludes that you should have known you were interacting with a minor on Second Life, or otherwise engage in any conduct that violates our Teen Safety Guidelines;

(viii) Post, display or transmit any material, object or text that encourages, represents, or facilitates sexual "*****," i.e., using child-like avatars in a sexualized manner. This activity is grounds for immediate termination. You may review our full ***** Policy here. You understand and agree that we may report any and all such incidents -- and any and all of your corresponding personal information -- to any authorities we deem appropriate, whether or not it in and of itself violates the law of your (or any) jurisdiction;

 

 

Quote

 

Introduction

This article addresses questions regarding Linden Lab's policy regarding sexual "*****" (depictions of, or engagement in, sexualized conduct with avatars that resemble children). This practice is disallowed by the Community Standards due to complaints from Residents and international laws, so it's important to understand the definitions.

Policy

Under our Community Standards policy, real-life images, avatar portrayals, and other depictions of sexual or lewd acts involving or appearing to involve children or minors are not allowed within Second Life. When detected, individuals and groups promoting or providing such content and activities will be subject to sanctions, which may include termination of accounts, closure of groups, removal of content, and loss of land or access to land.

There are three key aspects involved in these materials or acts that are in breach of the Community Standards:

• Participation by Residents in lewd or sexual acts in which one or more of the avatars appears to represent minors (or the depiction of such acts in images, video, textures, or text) is a violation of the Community Standards.
• Promoting or catering to such behavior or representations violates our Community Standards. For instance, the placement of avatars appearing to represent minors in proximity to "sex beds" or other sexualized graphics, objects, or scripts would violate our Community Standards, as would the placement of sexualized "pose balls" or other content in areas depicting playgrounds or children's spaces.
• The graphic depiction of children in a sexual or lewd manner violates our Community Standards.

Linden Lab reserves the right to immediately terminate the accounts of Residents who violate these standards.

 

Now age-play as a whole may offend your sensibilities, but is not an offence in SL.

[Cindy Evanier]

That MP example you have given looks about 10 years old to me (as in made 10 years ago not the age the avatar is trying to look).  Back then (pre mesh) making a child avatar was really difficult.  I remember trying for a contest thing in a club and my feet and hands looked ridiculous.  

Generally being a child avatar is not a problem.  It's where you are and what you do as a child that can be and worthy of a ban/AR as per the TOS given in Mortus' post. 

[Rob Huntsman]

1 minute ago, Cindy Evanier said:

That MP example you have given looks about 10 years old to me (as in made 10 years ago not the age the avatar is trying to look).  Back then (pre mesh) making a child avatar was really difficult.  I remember trying for a contest thing in a club and my feet and hands looked ridiculous.  

Generally being a child avatar is not a problem.  It's where you are and what you do as a child that can be and worthy of a ban/AR as per the TOS given in Mortus' post. 

I'm just saying it would be much harder to be a child avatar, if you couldnt buy any of it on marketplace. Creating a gating situation where not many players will make a child avatar because it is hard to find/obtain.

Less violations that way,

[Alwin Alcott]

2 minutes ago, Haselden said:

I'm just saying it would be much harder to be a child avatar,

Less violations that way,

it is NO violation to make or be a child avatar, get that idea out of your head.

 

[Cindy Evanier]

1 minute ago, Haselden said:

I'm just saying it would be much harder to be a child avatar, if you couldnt buy any of it on marketplace. Creating a gating situation where not many players will make a child avatar because it is hard to find/obtain.

Less violations that way,

You are implying being a child avatar is a bad thing.  It's not my kind of thing but there are many reasons people choose to be a child avatar so why make it hard for them just because of a minority who may use a child avatar in a bad way.  As with anything, if you see a violation report it.  

[Ceka Cianci]

Child avatar does not = sex, just like female avatar does not = shlut or male avatar does not = manwhore..

Edited December 7, 2019 by Ceka Cianci

[Maitimo]

There's nothing wrong with being a child avatar or purchasing them off the MP, though to be fair your example looks dreadful; it was hard to make a child avatar back in the early days when no-one made skins for them. Modern child avatars look more like this: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bebe-Youth-Fitted-Mesh-Body-20/17855800.

It is not against the TOS to be a child in SL, it's not even against the TOS to enter an Adult-rated region as a child. So there is no reason to restrict the sale of child avatars. Doing so is the same as preventing people from buying a car, just in case they might drive drunk.

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Matty Luminos

[Qie Niangao]

1 hour ago, Haselden said:

I'm just saying it would be much harder to be a child avatar, if you couldnt buy any of it on marketplace. Creating a gating situation where not many players will make a child avatar because it is hard to find/obtain.

Less violations that way,

But why only a half-step? Ban human avatars and related items from the Marketplace!

[Syo Emerald]

2 hours ago, Haselden said:

Or Maybe Consider Adult-verification to play second life such as credit card, of Birth-day year giving it a rated M for Mature.

And then what? Do you think behind child avatars are real children or teenagers? If yes, then you are wrong. There is no conncection between RL minors and child avatars. And none of the things you mentioned would keep minors out of SL 100%. We already have the birthdate thing and we had other verification methods way in the past. None of that influences the amount of child avatars in SL or a ToS violation with them.

[Cinos Field]

3 hours ago, Mortus Allen said:

Age-play in it's self is not an offence. There is nothing in the ToS I could see that explicitly or suggestively states that age-play on it's own is an offence. It's only an offence if one does so for the purpose of engaging, stalking or luring minors, or when doing so in a sexual or sexually suggestive or lewd manner.

See and read the following very carefully:

 

Now age-play as a whole may offend your sensibilities, but is not an offence in SL.

There's probably some language barrier thing going on here, but from the very example you quoted...

"Post, display or transmit any material, object or text that encourages, represents, or facilitates sexual "*****," i.e., using child-like avatars in a sexualized manner. This activity is grounds for immediate termination."

That activity is, for the record, practically the definition of the word *****. Roleplaying a child nonsexually is not *****, which is indeed against the ToS.

 

[AyelaNewLife]

2 hours ago, Matty Luminos said:

A few weeks ago I made an avatar that looks about early-teen age. Maybe 13 or 14.

This photo was taken in an Adult-rated region. However, there was no adult activity present, and in being there, looking like this, I broke no rules.

It's hard to tell from that photo as it may just be clipping, but visible genitalia bulges on underage avatars is a massive nope for me. I know that your intentions when making that avatar were almost certainly good, but the result... honestly makes me uncomfortable. Far too close to the line for me, and I suspect for the ToS too.

[Maitimo]

17 minutes ago, AyelaNewLife said:

It's hard to tell from that photo as it may just be clipping, but visible genitalia bulges on underage avatars is a massive nope for me. I know that your intentions when making that avatar were almost certainly good, but the result... honestly makes me uncomfortable. Far too close to the line for me, and I suspect for the ToS too.

This avatar used my regular shape, which is over 7ft tall. Very unlikely that anyone seeing me inworld would have assumed that my avatar was underage.

[Love Zhaoying]

5 hours ago, Haselden said:

Age-play

I'm surprised this wasn't redacted..

[Alyona Su]

5 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

But why only a half-step? Ban human avatars and related items from the Marketplace!

Definitely this. Reading the OP makes me wonder who they really are...

Edited December 7, 2019 by Alyona Su

[Jagix Linden]

Here is clarification on Linden Lab's Policy Regarding Age-Play as linked in the Terms and Conditions. But not everyone speaks legalese or wants to think too hard about what the wiki states, so I also memified it for you

Hey hey hey, where did Geordi make his ban hammer? In La Forge!